


a wish better left ungranted

by active_galactic_nuclei



Category: Slipknot (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Mythology References, deliberately vague time setting, joey is just... a weary traveler, ridiculously campy fantasy writing, sid is an imp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:48:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29555874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/active_galactic_nuclei/pseuds/active_galactic_nuclei
Summary: Joey meets a most peculiar merchant, who's wares seemed to be priced suspiciously low...
Relationships: Joey Jordison/Sid Wilson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7
Collections: Of Mythos and Magic





	a wish better left ungranted

**Author's Note:**

> based off the myth that imps could inhabit bottles and grant their owner's wishes, but if their owner didn't sell the bottle before they died they would be sent to hell. part one of 9 more to come with every og member + jay bc well... i just love him n i couldn't bare to leave him out haha

The market was bustling, merchants from distant lands selling all sorts of fanciful things. Stalls selling spices towering high in gravity defying piles, linens and silks waving in the wind, a perfect cacophony of the senses that tempted Joey in every direction. 

Joey was poor, a simple blacksmith from a small town, but here he could imagine himself to be a king. He imagined himself clothed in the finest draping silks of crimson and gold, eating grapes from the hands of the fairest maidens, and he smiled as he sat on the edge of the fountain in the center of the square. He looked out in all directions, a stall catching his eye down an alleyway attended by a haggard looking man. Joey found himself drawn to the shop and its shopkeeper, his feet dragging him across the plaza and down the narrow alley. 

“What are you looking for?” the man asked, and Joey found he really didn’t have an answer. 

“I’m not sure… what do you have for sale?” he responded, fingers brushing over plates of porcelain trimmed with brilliant gold that he knew would cost him more than a year's wages. 

“Might I interest you in something like this?” the man asked, pulling out a beautiful green bottle, shimmering under the midday sun. It had to have been blown by hand, intricate swirling designs wrapping the body and neck. 

“Oh no, I could never afford something like that,” Joey told the man, though he couldn’t pry his eyes from the thing. 

“Nonsense… how much do you have?” he questioned, and Joey shook his head as he emptied his satchel and the two silver coins he carried clattered onto the wooden table. 

“Only these… that must cost a fortune more than what I have,” he told the merchant. The man laughed and took the coins, a smile clear on his face. 

“If this is all you have, then it must be all it costs,” the man said to Joey, who was now locked in a state of disbelief. 

“I mustn’t accept this… you’re too generous!” he insisted, but the shopkeeper only smiled and extended the bottle to Joey, wrapped in a sheet of speckled brown paper. 

“What… what’s your name?” Joey asked, taking the bottle and placing it carefully in his rucksack, safely tucked between his clothes. 

“Shawn,” the man answered, “and yours?” 

“Joey,” he responded, eyes drawn to the other man as he stood before him. 

“Well Joey, I hope you find your new present to be most enjoyable,” Shawn assured him. 

“I’m sure I will,” he replied, looking down to close his rucksack, “thank you ag-” 

Suddenly the man was nowhere to be seen. Joey looked around incredulously, completely dumbfounded by his disappearance. He had seemed to vanish into thin air. Joey was perplexed, but he walked away slowly, making his way back to town to place his newfound treasure safely in his home. 

Walking into his house, Joey couldn’t help the strange feeling in his gut about what he had just experienced. It couldn’t be possible, yet he had seen him with his own eyes; there one second and gone the next. 

He was interrupted from his thoughts by his cat scampering up to him and rubbing her soft black face along his legs, letting out a soft meow of contentment as he reached down to pet along her back. 

He placed his bag onto his bed, carefully unpacking the contents. He pulled out the bottle last, mesmerized by its patterns. The glass was of a deep green, opaque and glimmering brightly by the candlelight. He studied it, enamored by its beauty and craftsmanship. It looked old, style indicative of a time long behind him. He placed it on the table by his bedside, deciding to take a bath before bed. Weary from the long trek home, he fetched the water and filled his bathtub. 

The water was warm as he laid in it, relaxing him and soothing his sore and aching muscles. He sat back, fingers gently sliding over his body as he washed himself. He sighed contentedly as he massaged the soap into his scalp, sweat and grime collecting at his hairline being washed away as he dipped his head into the water to rinse it out. He combed his hair back and tied it up, wringing out the excess water onto his shoulders as he did so, and stood from the tub. 

Pulling his night clothes on, he stretched his arms, joints cracking like fire logs as he did it. He walked back into his room, and he was shocked at what he found. 

He screamed as he saw the man sitting on the floor, seemingly very enthralled by playing with the cat toy that hung from the wall as he batted it back and forth with his tentative decorated hands. 

“Who are you?!” Joey yelled, and the man looked rather unfazed as he averted his gaze from the feathered toy that hung in front of his face. 

“Didn’t Shawn tell you about me?” he replied, decidedly nonchalant. 

“He most certainly did not!” Joey answered angrily. 

“Oh, how rude of him. My name’s Sid!” the man chirped, and Joey felt like he was losing his mind. 

“You… he tricked me!” Joey cried out. 

“Well, you know, tricked is a strong word… maybe you should’ve  _ asked  _ him what was in the bottle before you bought it,” Sid sassed back. 

“You’re… you’re an imp! A rotten devil!” Joey argued, and Sid smiled in return. 

“That I am… but that’s no way to talk to someone who could help you, now is it?” Sid smirked. 

“And just  _ how  _ are you meant to help me?” Joey barked out. 

“You know, imps are good for more than just playing jokes on people. We’re wish granters too,” he told Joey, sitting up to face him. Joey was struck by his beauty, long brown hair falling in soft curls down his shoulders and soft freckles dotting the long expanses of skin on his arms and legs. 

“Well I  _ wish  _ you would get out of my house!” Joey shouted. 

“I’m afraid I can’t grant that wish, love,” Sid teased, “it seems you’re stuck with your new pet.” 

Joey contemplated for a long moment, looking down at where the man sat on the floor, and sighed deeply in defeat. 

“Fine… You can stay,” Joey conceded. Sid’s face lit up happily at this, almost as if he wasn’t expecting it to happen. He walked carefully up to Joey, and Joey watched him with wonder. He was gorgeous, face bathed in flickering candlelight, soft skin dancing with inky tattoos that Joey found himself wanting to trace over with his fingers. He breathed a shaky sigh as Sid found his way next to him, hands coming up to rest on Joey’s shoulders. Then, as if reading his mind, leaning down to press his soft lips against Joey’s. 

The kiss was slow, gentle in its debauchery. It took Joey’s breath away, the way Sid seemed to explore his body, roaming hands from both parties coming up to study every soft curve of the other. Pulling away, Joey stared into Sid’s eyes and found he could only want for one thing. 

“I wish you’d never leave…” he murmured, and Sid stared back at him in deference. 

“Your wish is my command.” 


End file.
